Many objectives may be achieved by exposing a pumpable substance to ultrahigh-pressure. For example, ultrahigh-pressure may be used to render any desired physical change in a substance that can be accomplished by pressurizing the substance to a selected pressure for a selected period of time. Fluids and abrasive slurries elevated to ultrahigh-pressures may be used to perform a variety of tasks, such as cutting different types of materials. Ultrahigh-pressure may be used to chemically or physically modify chemical or biological substances. Ultrahigh-pressure processing may be used to improve the quality of existing products, and to generate new products.
Currently, the majority of pressure-based processing is achieved by loading a substance into a large pressure vessel. The pressure vessel is then closed and pressurized to a selected pressure for a selected amount of time, commonly referred to as the "dwell time," to achieve the desired physical change in the substance. The vessel is then depressurized, and the contents unloaded. Alternately, for example in the context of pressurizing a high-pressure slurry, the slurry is discharged from the pressure vessel until the vessel is empty. The pressure vessel is then reloaded with a volume of slurry.
Although current systems produced desirable results, they also have several disadvantages. For example, high-pressure vessels typically require a thick wall construction and massive enclosures to contain the pressure, thereby making the large pressure vessels costly to construct. These current systems are also time-consuming to operate, because a massive enclosure must be removed and replaced for each loading cycle.